Soundware Guides: How to Set up a Basic Home Studio

Soundware Beginners Guides: How to...

...Set up a home studio.

Computer technology has made it easier and cheaper to start recording music at home. It's possible to set up a basic studio for only a very small outlay, which can later be upgraded and expanded as your skills and requirements increase. Before buying home studio equipment or software, think carefully about what you'd like to record - which instruments and in which style - and this will help you decide which areas of your setup you need to concentrate on the most. For example, if you'll be recording a lot of acoustic guitar and vocals, it's worth investing in a good quality microphone and preamp, but if you're more interested in making electronic music, it might be worth spending money on software and samples instead.

Studio Elements:

Computer

Sound Card

Software

Hardware Controller

Microphone

Headphones

Monitor Speakers

Extras

Computer

Practically all modern computers are capable of being used for recording audio. However, it's best to check the system requirements on any equipment or software you buy beforehand to ensure that it will run correctly. It's also a good idea to make sure that your system is running as efficiently as possible. View our tutorial
"How to Minimise Latency on Your PC" for ways to get the best out of your computer when recording.

Sound Card

A good sound card is an important element of any home studio. Sound cards can be fitted internally, or you can connect external cards to your computer via USB or Firewire. Before you buy, think carefully about what you want to record, and what inputs you'll need. A good sound card doesn't necessarily need loads of inputs unless you want to record a lot of instruments at the same time, but a good range of different types of inputs is always useful. For more information on sound cards, view our
Sound Cards Tutorial.

Software

Next, you'll need to think about the software you're going to use to record. The range of types and brands of software can be quite bewildering, but it's easy to narrow down the selection based on the style of music you're interested in making and the budget you're working to. For more information on music software, view our
Music Software Tutorial.

Hardware Controller

A disadvantage of computer recording compared to analogue is the lack of a "hands-on" approach to recording - having to work with a screen, keyboard and mouse can sometimes make simple tasks like inputting MIDI data more time-consuming than they need to be. However, a hardware controller like a MIDI keyboard or a USB mixer can make life easier. By creating a physical link between you and your software, hardware controllers can make computer recording faster, easier and more intuitive. For more information, see our MIDI tutorial

Microphone

If you're going to be recording vocals or acoustic instruments, it's worth investing in a condenser microphone, which will provide a high sound quality. Make sure that your sound card has an input with phantom power to run the microphone, though, or choose a USB condenser microphone with a built-in preamp. For more information, see our
Microphones Tutorial .

Monitor Speakers

A good set of speakers can improve the quality of your mixes considerably - if you can hear an accurate representation of what you've recorded, you can choose the right effects and set levels correctly. It's well worth upgrading your computer speakers - we stock a range of compact speakers designed for desktop use as well as larger, professional grade monitors. For more information, see our
Speakers Tutorial .